Summary: In Japan, approximately 60% of adult ambulance users are diagnosed with minor injuries or diseases in the emergency department and thus do not require hospitalization. Ambulance use in individuals with nonurgent medical conditions is associated with their medical conditions, socioeconomic and psychological factors. Thus, ambulance users with nonurgent medical conditions have medical and unfulfilled biopsychosocial needs. However, biopsychosocial needs have rarely been considered. To identify the biopsychosocial needs of the segments in a future study, we aimed to characterize the distinct segments among adult ambulance users with nonurgent medical conditions by segmentation and clustering techniques. We used the ambulance transportation and request call records databases of the Higashihiroshima Fire Department, Japan, between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020. The participants were ambulance users aged 18–64 years diagnosed with minor injuries or diseases in the emergency department (defined as adult ambulance users with nonurgent medical conditions). A soft clustering method was used to divide the participants based on 13 variables. This analysis included 5,982 adult ambulance users. Six segments were obtained: (1) “users with neurological diseases or other injuries occurring late at night on weekdays”; (2) “users injured or involved in fire accidents, with increased on-scene time and multiple hospital inquiries”; (3) “users transferred between hospitals”; (4) “users with acute illnesses and transported from home”; (5) “users involved in motor vehicle accidents”; and (6) “users transferred to hospitals outside of the area during the daytime on weekdays.” Further research is warranted to address the ambulance user needs of each segment.
The results of this research were published online in the Acute Medicine &Surgery on December 12, 2023.
